LITMIR.BIZ

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Cade’s girlfriend, Lexi. Herb was probably inside the stall with Lucy.

      Brant spotted Cade’s easygoing gray cat sleeping on a blanket thrown across a hay bale. There was no sign of a guy in a wheelchair, but a young woman paced the width of the aisle, head down and arms folded against her stomach. Because he was a guy, he noticed the curve of her breasts and hips.

      But he was also a horse trainer who recognized the tension eddying around her. Unwelcome tension. If she had a sense of humor, dark or otherwise, it wasn’t showing.

      The skirt of her purple-flowered sundress swirled around her knees with each impatient step. Wavy dark hair that hung to the middle of her back rippled as she moved. Aria Danes was wound tight and that was not good for this impending birth.

      Rosie started toward him, followed by Cade and Lexi, but just then the woman glanced up, unfolded her arms and marched in his direction. Rosie paused and motioned Cade and Lexi to do the same.

      “You’re Brant. I remember you now. You look the same, only bigger.” Her eyes, an unusual shade of violet, reflected her agitation.

      Time to diffuse this bomb. He touched the brim of his Stetson and smiled. “Bigger and I hope better. Pleased to meet you, Aria.”

      “Thank God you’re here.” She didn’t return his smile as she tilted her chin to meet his gaze. “Rosie says you have a magic touch with newborns.”

      “Now that’s a fact.” He lifted his hat slightly and settled it back on his head. “I can make them appear and disappear, float three feet in the air, change color—”

      “Rosie also warned me you like to kid around.”

      “On occasion.” And that obviously wasn’t working for her, although he’d heard a muffled snort from Cade.

      “I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

      “I can see that.” He snuck a quick glance over Aria’s shoulder and his three railbirds were still there taking in the show.

      She folded her arms again and frowned. “It’s very important to me and to...to my brother that this foal gets a good start in life.”

      “I promise to give it my all, ma’am.” He adopted the soothing tones he used with a nervous horse. “But with all due respect, things will go a lot smoother if everyone stays calm and relaxed.”

      She blinked. Then her cheeks turned pink. “Oh, um, I didn’t mean to sound so...” She trailed off with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’ve been on edge ever since Rosie called me at the bank this afternoon. She said you were on your way, but when I got off work and found out you weren’t here...”

      “Well, I made it.” From the corner of his eye he caught Rosie giving him a thumbs-up.

      “Yes, you did.” Some of the strain eased from Aria’s expression.

      He counted that a small victory. “What about Josh? Couldn’t he come with you?”

      Disappointment flickered in her eyes. “No, he... I couldn’t convince him to come. And, to be fair, there’s no set timetable for this, is there? It could be awkward for him if it goes on all night.”

      “I suppose it could.” But he wished she’d been able to talk her brother into coming out to be a part of this. It might have done him a world of good. “What do you say we go on down there and check on Lucy’s progress?”

      “Absolutely.” She clapped her hand to her forehead. “And I just realized I’ve been keeping you from your family. Not nice.”

      “I’m sure they understand that you’re stressed.”

      “That’s no excuse.” Straightening her shoulders, she turned, but by that time Rosie and company had resumed their stations right outside the stall, as if they hadn’t been lined up behind her listening to every word. “Rosie, I apologize for intercepting him.” She walked toward the group and Brant followed. “I was just...glad to see that he’d made it.”

      “We’re all glad.” Rosie came forward and gave him a fierce mom hug. Usually she dolled herself up when one of her boys was headed home, but today she’d been helping with Lucy and wore practical clothes—an old shirt and faded jeans. Her blond hair was in disarray and her usual red lipstick was AWOL.

      As he wrapped his arms around one of the two most important people in his life, he breathed in the cherished floral scent that he associated with comfort and security. The top of her head didn’t reach his shoulder, but she was a bigger person than anyone he knew besides Herb. “Love you, Mom.”

      “Love you, too, son.” Then she stepped back and winked at him. “Good thing you made it.”

      He grinned back at her. “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet, little lady. Wait’ll I show you my floating foal trick.”

      Cade stepped forward and grasped his hand before pulling him into a quick dude hug. “I can hardly wait, bro.”

      “I’ll bet.” Brant was glad to see Cade looking so good—tanned, fit and happy.

      “Yeah, I haven’t seen that trick in ages.” Lexi, one of the main reasons for Cade’s happiness, moved in for her hug. A bundle of energy with a curly mop of brown hair, she was the daughter of Rosie and Herb’s closest friends and had been part of Thunder Mountain life for years. “Every ranch needs a resident magician.”

      Aria’s frown had reappeared. “Can you really lift that foal in the air? I thought you were making that up.”

      “I was.” He’d never come across a more serious woman than Aria Danes.

      Her smile was faint, but at least she knew how to create one. “Just wanted to make sure. I don’t want this foal floating anywhere.”

      “No floating, I promise.” He felt a tug of sympathy for her. Everyone else knew him well. They could separate jokes from fact.

      Lexi stepped into the breach. “You have to take everything Brant says with a grain of salt, but on the plus side, you don’t have to worry that he’ll ever get mad at you. You can’t rile this cowboy. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

      Cade laughed. “We’ve all tried. My specialty was rubber snakes tucked into a guy’s bunk. I got a rise out of everyone but Brant. He named that rubber snake Elmer and treated it like a beloved pet. Then he—”

      “Hate to interrupt.” Herb’s gentle voice from the depths of the stall brought them all back to the matter at hand. “But it’s show time.” His comment was punctuated with a loud groan from the mare.

      Brant walked to the stall door and looked in. Lucy, a golden palomino the color of the setting sun, lay on her side with her flanks heaving. Herb moved with the brisk efficiency of a man twenty years younger as he crouched behind the mare. He’d put on his glasses, always a sign the birth was imminent.

      Opening the unlatched stall door, Brant slipped inside. “Hey, Dad.”

      He glanced up. “Good to see you, son.”

      “You’re looking chipper. Teaching must agree with you.”

      “I had no idea I’d love it so much.” He smiled at Brant. “Like old times being together like this, huh?”

      “Sure is. Nice feeling.”

      “Yep.” Herb held his gaze for a moment before clearing his throat. “All righty, then. You take her head and I’ll handle the business end, just like we’ve always done.”

      “Got it.” Nudging his hat back, Brant dropped to his knees in the straw and began stroking Lucy’s sweaty neck. “Easy does it, sweetheart,” he crooned. “Just relax and let nature take its course.”

      Lucy snuffled in response.

      He laid his hand against the vein pulsing in her neck and held it there. “You’ll be fine,” he murmured, “and your

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